The number of Virginians who have defaulted on their student loans has reached nearly 1 in 5 borrowers, reflecting a national trend.
About 18% of people living in Virginia with student loan debt have failed to make payments for at least nine months, a 77% increase from September, the Associated Press found in a nationwide analysis.
There are about 1.1 million people across Virginia with student loans, about $45.5 billion in debt. About 191,000 have defaulted on their student loans, about $5.2 billion.
As a pandemic relief measure, the federal government allowed borrowers to suspend loan payments until 2023, and President Joe Biden's administration then provided a one-year grace period. That ended in fall 2024, allowing loans to enter into default after nine months of missed payments.
A surge in defaults followed.
There’s been an increase in confusion, apprehension and frustration among borrowers, said Scott Kemp, the student loan advocate at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Those feelings arise from a variety of scenarios, including the changing landscape of loan servicers, the start and stop of forbearance and changes to repayment options.
“This is fairly consistent whether they are trying to explore their repayment options, are trying to get the forgiveness that they think they are due,” he said, “and also if they are working through a default situation where they've defaulted on their account and try to come to some sort of resolution.”
Across the country, the number of borrowers with defaulted student loans jumped by more than 4.2 million from April 2025 to March 2026, according to an Associated Press analysis. Today, about 9.5 million borrowers — more than 1 in 5 — are in default, including those whose loans were well past due before the pandemic, according to the AP analysis. The previous record for borrowers in default had been 8 million in December 2019.
Hundreds of thousands more are months behind on payments, and another surge in defaults could be on the way. Millions of borrowers are facing higher monthly payments as the government dismantles its most affordableincome-driven repayment option, the SAVE plan, one of several changes the Education Department stated are intended to simplify a fragmented system.
While credit scores can suffer when borrowers are just a few months behind, entering default brings the possibility of more serious consequences, including garnished wages or Social Security payments. For now, the Trump administration has held off on such involuntary collections.
A Moody’s Analytics report this spring said garnishments are likely to begin within the next year, warning of “an additional headwind in an increasingly fragile economy.”
Many of the states with the highest concentrations of defaulted borrowers are in the South, an AP analysis found.
Mississippi has the nation’s highest default rate at 28.3%, and others near the top include Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. Rounding out the 15 states with the highest default rates are Alaska, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico and Nevada.
Puerto Rico had the highest default rate — 30.9%.
Virginia ranks 44th for the percentage of borrowers who are in default when compared to other states and Puerto Rico. That default rate is consistent for students who attended private and public schools in Virginia. But for those who attended for-profit schools, that percentage nearly doubles to about 34%.
Most borrowers who are in default owe less than $10,000 and didn’t complete their program, Kemp said. Then they’re left replaying loans but without a degree or certificate that might have given them an increase in their salary.
Kemp said his recommendation to students is to explore their options when it comes to repayment, ensure their information is up to date with their loan servicer and the federal government, and to keep records of their loans and any communication about them.
“For those specifically that are in default, don't let this pass you by,” he said. “It's in your best interest to reconnect to your student loan situation.”
Student loan resources can be found at VirginiaStudentLoanHelp.org and StudentAid.gov.
Associated Press reporters Heather Hollingsworth, Nicky Forster and Adriana Morga contributed to this report.
